Following South Sudan's referendum on independence, Insight on Conflict will be producing a weekly round-up of the news. To subscribe to receive the updates via email, please contact joel@insightonconflict.org or complete the form below.

News round-up:

  • Last week saw fighting in Abyei between the Northern army and Southern police. The clashes began after a Northern army convoy entered the region and was stopped by the police. 14 people died in the violence that followed. The UN and US have urged both sides to exercise restraint. During African Union backed talks on Sunday both the North and South agreed to begin withdrawing unauthorised troops from the region, and the South agreed to drop it’s claim on Abyei from its transitional constitution.
  • Elections in South Kordofan finished without major incidents, and votes are now being counted. Both the NCP and SPLM are claiming victory. Al-Jazeera claims to have obtained figures that show the SPLM candidate in the lead, but the NCP claims that any accurate count will show their candidate has won.
  • The Sudanese cabinet have approved the plan to divide Darfur into five states instead of the three at present. The rebel groups say the move is part of a strategy of divide and rule. On 1 July a referendum is to be held on whether the Darfur should have greater autonomy.
  • The International Crisis Group say that North Sudan may fragment without democracy, arguing that the ruling NCP party is deeply fragmented – as indicated by the sacking of a senior security advisor last week.
  • South Sudan’s cabinet has approved the transitional constitution.
  • Since the referendum on independence in January over 1,000 people are believed to have been killed and 100,000 have fled their homes because of rebel and tribal violence in South Sudan.

News in detail:

Abyei

AFP: North Sudan troops enter Abyei, 14 dead 03 May: A heavily armed Sudanese military convoy entered the flashpoint border district of Abyei, sparking clashes that left up to 14 people dead, its chief administrator and a UN spokesman said on Tuesday. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hMhS96lz87_uPtsFYYty6I-1D47g?docId=CNG.38ca4655f63b9e496ef37d6a16caeeee.1e1

Reuters: North Sudan army, South police clash in Abyei flashpoint 03 May: A North Sudanese army convoy entered the contested border region of Abyei and clashed with Southern police, killing 12 people, the region's chief administrator, a Southerner, said on Tuesday. http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE7420FJ20110503

VOA: Sudan’s Ruling Party Denies Responsibility for Abyei Clashes 04 May: A prominent member of Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party says reports of 14 deaths in Abyei Tuesday are “completely false.” The victims were said to have died in clashes between the [Northern] Sudanese army and Southern forces. http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Sudans-Ruling-Party-Denies-Responsibility-for-Abyei-Clashes--121273039.html

Reuters: US sees dangerous standoff in Sudan's Abyei 06 May: The United States on Thursday expressed growing alarm over Sudan's disputed Abyei region, warning it was escalating into a situation that could imperil the country's landmark 2005 peace deal. http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE74503620110506

AFP: Ban warns Sudan rivals over oil region tensions 07 May: UN chief Ban Ki-Moon warned Friday that new deadly clashes in the disputed oil region of Abyei risk undermining relations between the rival North and South Sudan governments as they head for permanent separation. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ip7IAZkusL_5m4ZbUHaQUTTmfYVQ?docId=CNG.64f9c81db558e1943b01871a72b9f9c0.851

Sudan Tribune: South Sudan to drop Abyei claims from draft constitution as unauthorized forces start withdrawal 08 May: South Sudan has pledged to strike claims to the Abyei region off its draft constitution, an AU-mandated panel announced on Sunday, as North and South Sudan together with the UN reached an agreement on a timeframe to withdraw all unauthorized troops from the region. http://www.sudantribune.com/South-Sudan-to-drop-Abyei-claims,38834

South Kordofan

AFP: Count under way after vote in volatile Sudan state 05 May: The count was under way on Thursday in the volatile state of South Kordofan after three days of voting for a new governor and assembly, which international observers described as largely calm. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gPd3UB5_DXZHbUluh9nATHLzDYlA?docId=CNG.966d226048db19e2cf42d30d1ae9d451.841

Sudan Tribune: SPLM & NCP claim win in South Kordofan gubernatorial elections 07 May: The ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) both pre-empted the announcement of election results in South Kordofan saying their candidates for governor have won. http://www.sudantribune.com/SPLM-NCP-claim-win-in-South,38822

North Sudan

AFP: Bin Laden hailed as martyr at Khartoum rally 04 May: Around 1,000 Sudanese Muslims gathered on Tuesday at a square in Khartoum, where Osama Bin Laden lived in the 1990s, hailing Al-Qaeda's slain leader as a "martyr" and shouting anti-US slogans. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gNrfZc2nFmQd0FTTqcFdQKIb6_Hw?docId=CNG.a3f8092c66918f0cedb929502b657e94.391

AFP: North Sudan may fragment without democracy: ICG 04 May: Sudan's failure to reform its ruling party and talk with the opposition is aggravating division and alienating marginal areas like Darfur that could cause the North to fragment, a think-tank said on Wednesday. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jtkC7T6wgHhT44hmFDXXTya8hrrw?docId=CNG.8b034c6e03fc6e9cc72836ea63a2b581.2a1

Reuters: Sudan deploys troops at Libya border, evicts envoy 04 May: Sudan has deployed troops at the Libyan border to prevent arms smuggling to rebels in Darfur and closed the Libyan consulate in the troubled region, a government official said on Wednesday. http://af.reuters.com/article/sudanNews/idAFLAE45656920110504

Sudan Tribune: Sudan’s former security adviser was sacked because of “presidential ambitions” 04 May: Sudan’s presidential security adviser, Salah Gosh, was sacked from his position because of his “presidential ambitions”, an official said on Wednesday, stoking speculations of growing divisions within the country’s ruling party. http://www.sudantribune.com/Sudan-s-former-security-adviser,38785

South Sudan

Sudan Tribune: South Sudan Renegade Gabriel Tanginye under house arrest 03 May: A South Sudan army official said the rebel Gabriel Tanginye has been under house arrest in the South Sudan capital, Juba since he was flown there late last month, waiting for charges to be brought against him. http://www.sudantribune.com/South-Sudan-Renegade-Gabriel,38774

AFP: 'Many dead' in South Sudan tribal clashes: official 04 May: Clashes in South Sudan have left many dead in separate cattle raids and rebel attacks, officials said on Tuesday, as the soon to be independent state struggles to contain bloody violence. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jjee9JDJFb_vguHoi_Qw3YKLfZjw?docId=CNG.a3f8092c66918f0cedb929502b657e94.861

Sudan Tribune: South Sudan cabinet passes transitional constitution 05 May: South Sudan’s Council of Ministers has passed the long awaited four-year transitional constitution, giving more powers to the President of the would-be Republic of South Sudan, from July 9. http://www.sudantribune.com/South-Sudan-cabinet-passes,38796

Reuters: South Sudan to redeem old pound after split 06 May: Southern Sudan's central bank said it will buy back all pounds circulating in the region once a new currency is issued after independence in July as it is trying to halt a currency slide in the oil-rich South. http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE7450GK20110506

Darfur

AFP: Sudan cabinet endorses two new Darfur states 05 May: The Sudanese cabinet on Thursday approved a bill to add two new states to Darfur's existing three, official media reported, in a move which rebels claim undermines prospects for peace in the war-torn region. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iHBvq2NZeD7pCR6XqqFHrQs9FA5w?docId=CNG.854889179a7ec590cda41e5232f39aed.3d1

International

Sudan Tribune: Egypt promises Sudan’s Bashir immunity once it joins ICC 08 May: The Egyptian government assured Sudan that president Omer al-Bashir will not be arrested on its territories once Cairo ratifies the Rome Statute which is the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court (ICC). http://www.sudantribune.com/Egypt-promises-Sudan-s-Bashir,38831

AFP: Sudan's Bashir travels to Djibouti: state media 08 May: Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, travelled Saturday to Djibouti, which is party to the ICC, for the inauguration of its re-elected leader, state media said. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ghAXK8qKuIGqEp10FQOK5kZs1Glg?docId=CNG.0ade78defc2875bf3eb3e6867300e47f.571